Key Factors
- The Iranian overseas ministry summoned Australian ambassador Ian McConville on Wednesday after a pro-LGBTIQ+ social media publish.
- Some members of Australia’s Iranian group expressed help for the ambassador’s actions.
- The Islamic Penal Code of Iran criminalises homosexuality and suggests extreme punishments, together with execution.
On Sunday, the Australian embassy in Tehran posted on Instagram to have a good time “Put on It Purple Day,” which is devoted to supporting younger LGBTIQ+ group members.
“Immediately, and daily, we’re devoted to making a supportive atmosphere, the place everybody, particularly LGBTQIA+ youth, can really feel proud to be themselves,” the publish learn.
The publish, which included images of Ian McConville, Australia’s ambassador to Iran, sporting a purple tie and celebrating the day, obtained a whole lot of feedback inside just a few hours.
‘An act of bravery’
Some members of Australia’s Iranian group confirmed their help for the ambassador’s actions.
“I feel it was a stunning act. It was very good to remind everybody that LGBTIQ+ group members exist. However doing that in Iran is an act of bravery,” Azadeh, an Iranian-Australian queer individual in Melbourne, informed SBS Persian.
The Iranian authorities didn’t see it the identical approach, with the overseas ministry summoning the ambassador on Wednesday after the publish obtained heavy criticism from state media.
“The Ministry of Overseas Affairs has strongly condemned the motion of the Australian embassy in publishing this content material,” Iran’s overseas ministry stated in an announcement.
In response, Overseas Minister Penny Wong informed SBS Persian, “Australia is a proud advocate for human rights. At residence and on the planet, we work to advance these rules.”
Azadeh was “not shocked” by the current diplomatic challenges between the international locations.
“[The Iranian government] haven’t any disgrace, and nothing is surprising from them,” she stated.
“We should always separate what the Iranian authorities does and what the Iranian individuals suppose. Actually, nobody in Iran cares about what the federal government says and does.
“Every part is illegitimate in Iran; in a approach, being a human is illegitimate there.”
‘Felt like a stranger in my very own nation’
In keeping with a current report by the College Faculty Stockholm, the LGBTQIA+ group in Iran faces varied types of human rights violations. The report prompt that “the worldwide group should stand in solidarity with the LGBT group in Iran”.
The Islamic Penal Code of Iran criminalises homosexuality and suggests extreme punishments, together with execution.
Raha, an Iranian trans girl who got here to Australia about one 12 months in the past, has skilled this suppression in Iran.
“As soon as the morality police wished to arrest me, I attempted to run away, however they took me into the police van, beat me after which took me to the jail,” she stated.
“I used to be arrested for 33 days simply due to my gender id.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s legislation considers transgender id as a psychological dysfunction and solely recognises trans individuals in the event that they bear gender-affirming surgical procedure.
Amnesty Worldwide’s 2023-2024 report about human rights in Iran stated: “State-endorsed ‘conversion therapies’ amounting to torture or different ill-treatment remained prevalent, together with towards kids.”
A gaggle of Iranian LGBTIQ+ individuals and supporters attend the Midsumma Satisfaction March in Melbourne. Supply: SBS / Niv Sadrolodabaee
Raha stated she skilled “systematic discrimination” in Iran.
“I all the time felt like a stranger in my very own nation; I didn’t have anybody supporting me, and I couldn’t breathe. That’s the reason I left Iran as a refugee and by no means returned,” she stated.
“Nonetheless, all of the trauma is alive right here with me. I’m nonetheless preventing with these reminiscences, and after I see Australians even have days to have a good time my gender id, I get shocked.”
‘Put on It Purple’ diplomatic controversy
Seeing the Australian ambassador in Iran celebrating “Put on It Purple Day” was joyful for Raha.
“As a group member in Australia, I’ll certainly help the ambassador; what he did was a ray of sunshine within the darkness,” she stated.
“[The summoning of the ambassador] was not surprising, but it surely disgusted me.”
Final month, McConville’s Iranian counterpart in Australia was “known as in” to the Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce after a controversial publish on X about Israel.
Ahmad Sadeghi referred to Israel as “the Zionist plague” and known as for its elimination from “the holy lands of Palestine” by 2027.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the publish as “abhorrent, hateful and antisemitic”.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Embassy in Canberra stated in an announcement, “the remark of the Iranian Ambassador on X has nothing to do with Jewish Individuals, antisemitism or elevating hate speech or violent methods.”
